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High Law and Low Justice, Part 5


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The half a million is quickly brought together once the decision is taken. Most can be financed from your own resource once piggy banks are shaken. The shares break down to 250,000 put in by Gwydion, 80,000 by Tess and 80,000 from the Crews own trading partnership. The only finance is 90,000 raised by Ruzz'koff in his own name at 2% and due in a months time. It is agreed that repaying this loan will take priority. No one else is inclined to add any capital, not wanting to put all their eggs in one basket.

The statues, mostly figure pieces in local limestone in a Corporate Realist* style with a few bits of marble and a couple of industrial pieces welded together from discarded farm machinery. No one in the crew is really quallifed to talk about the artistic merit of any of this, but those who know the value of a credit reckon you are getting value for money here.

* Which is Socialist Realism but with Dollar Signs instead of Hammers and Sickles.
 

Ruzz'koff slams the table, "Right, okay, we are decided. Let's get Tess settled in, shown around and signed up to the articles. You'll be a Third Officer along with Tuan. We are not very big on ranks and authority here, amongst ourselves anyway. All I ask is that you never threaten my charisma in front of outsiders."

+++++++++++++++​

It is all coming together, the administrator and his party return on board looking rested but eager to start travelling again. Mr Gudeli* greets all the crew when he returns on board, including the new arrival, "Ah, you must be Tess. Delighted to meet you, hope you will do a better job of looking after us than this lot have so far." You think he's joking.*

"We will be trying not to lose anyone else on this trip sir, it's bad for repeat business," says Ruzz'koff, equally dryly.

*Gwydion:
[sblock]http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1398905
And you are dead certain that no one can have told Ashur Gudeli or his two associates Melissah or Jake that you were getting a new crew member, least of all that her name was Tess.[/sblock]

Your cargo manifest for this run is rather complex, with 6 different lots of varying sizes headed to two destinations with 3 owners. However, the main bulk of the cargo hold is now an animal pen filled with modified cows, groats and noqul. The attending Pharmacrop Vet, a rather young and ernest looking youth named Toled Omslaw will talk the socks off of anyone about his charges if given the chance. The handler Elizabeth Shaw is a nice enough young lady on her first trip off planet and apparently rather excited at the concept. You can only imagine her reaction if she was going somwhere worth going to.
 

"Cattle." Gwydion sighs. "The reason I left my homeplanet was Cattle."
"I hate Cattle. Space seemed a very good prospect. I imagined it to be the most cattle-free region of the universe. Bugger."
 

Tess laughs at Gwydion and leans back in her chair.

"I think they're cute. Did you see those big eyes they have? And they love people. They'll come right up and lick your hand if you let them."

She turns left and right, just seeing how far she can spin in the seat, then gets more serious.

"Okay then...so I think I'm more or less caught up on where we ARE. I'm still fuzzy on where we're going and what we're planning to do."
 

"We're off to missarge, then onwards. Might even stop by my old homeplanet. Mom's gonna go apeshit when she discovers I'm not married yat, and have no children." Gwydion smiles, then frowns. "At least none that I'm aware of." he mutters
 

"I'm not sure Tess needed to know the last part of that, unless you plan on making her the solution to that particular problem. First stop is Bleue Mer, ostensibley we are going there to deliver supplies and the portable farmyard we have in our hold. Then we fuel up for free including as much of our hold as we can fill and jump out for Missarge where we hawk emergent industrial art forms. After that we wing it towards space we know well," he indicates himself, Tess and Gwydion," and drop our three passengers off at Anabapar."

"Really however we are going to Bleue Mer because of Treth; if only because that is the only link on finding out what happened to him and any connection between that and the Dvonn incident. However, keep stum on that in front of the passengers given that two of them are Pharmacorp employees."

"I don't really know what to do when we get to Bleue Mer except have a snoop around and see what turns up. We don't really know what we are looking for."

OOC:
(I think I have linked to that story before. If not:here it is only Saanath and Ruzz'kofff were around then)
 

Tessa nods at that.

"Going to Bleue Mer to hunt for clues. Got it."

She gives Gwydion a grin.

"And tease Gwydion about his mom, of course. Can't ask for a nobler cause than that."
 

ic - HLLJ

Saanath set about doing what needs to be done. Last minute arrangements need to be made to get the statues secured. The cattle are a little more demanding than cargo normally is. Saanath checks and double checks the enclosures and restraints (in case they go zero-g), as well as going over the feed and water systems for the animals one more time.

He pulls Gywdion over during a quiet moment, when they can talk privately.

"Did you mention Tess to the Administrator?" Saanath frowns. "I don't remember him being around when we found out about her," he adds with a shake of the head. "Perhaps Ruzz'koff informed him?

"Perhaps I am just getting paranoid in my old age."
 

Into the Woods

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